SFGate: The Spy Who Hacked Me: Will Open Source Be The Hero Of International Security?

"...On the surface, it might seem to make sense that the
"socialized" development process of open-source projects would
appeal to a communist nation such as China."

"But that's not really the main reason for China's interest in
Linux. True open-source software is often described as being "free,
as in free speech" but China's never shown much of an interest in
promoting free speech."

"Economic concerns aren't the motive, either. Sure, Linux is
also "free, as in free beer." But in a country with almost zero
recognition of intellectual property rights, so is just about
everything else. Current estimates reckon that some 90 percent of
the software in use in China today comes from pirated copies."

"So why the move toward Linux? Simple. It may be the only OS
China can trust."